Gliding Through the Mist
by LadyMeringue
Summary: You may walk away from yourself several times, shed behind the remains of your lost innocence, but some part of your past self remains within you, only waiting for a chance to be set free, so that it can glide through the mist and back to reality. Entry for The Dark Sunshine Challenge. :) Rated T for being a dark theme, and for a bit of violence.


**Gliding Through the Mist**

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 **A/N: Hey there everyone! :D :D This OS is a part of the Dark Sunshine Challenge given by MM. :D :D**

 **Now there are three notes for this OS:**

 **1\. For the _CID Fandom_ , this is again another AU version of Behrupiya, where ACP Pradyuman, Abhijeet and Daya don't survive it. Also, Freddy's character in this is pretty much OC, so apologies for that.**

 **2\. This also simultaneously takes place with Season 2 Episode 20 of _The Blacklist_.**

 **3\. Freddy and Rocky's relationship here has been inspired from Patrick Jane and Red John's relationship from _The Mentalist_. To summarize it shortly, Red John, a serial killer and the murdered of Jane's wife and daughter, had a twisted and obsessive relationship with Patrick Jane, something that can be described as "a kind of love". **

**I think that should be all. :) Not keeping you all any further,**

 **Happy Reading! :D :D**

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"Get the backup team on this, he shouldn't escape at any cost!"

"Yes sir!"

Four people ran out from the building, following which another man left, looking grave. He was undoubtedly the leader of the team, another his mind was set in the task of apprehending the criminal at all costs. The failure of their mission would cost the lives of thousands of innocent Americans should the dominoes of several incidents begin to fall, and he would not have that on his conscious.

He had barely finished his line of thoughts when one of his juniors came up to him triumphantly, yelling into the air.

"We've got him, sir! We've caught Lucifer!" The leader looked up and managed to give his colleague a smile, his voice however just as grave.

"Good, put in into the car and take him to our site. I'll be with you shortly."

The other man nodded and left the company of the older one, making his way into the car where the success of their mission resided. The older man sighed as he removed his phone from the pocket and quickly dialed a number. The phone had barely rung twice, when an operator answered it.

"St. Benedict's Pharmacy," spoke a cool female voice. Freddy spoke quickly.

"Code 7613."

"Please wait while your line is being transferred." The leader waited impatiently as he tapped his foot with vigor. A few seconds later, another voice appeared on the phone.

"Fredericks, did you get the hit?"

"Yes, we've got him. The boys will be delivering him at the site soon enough."

"This is fantastic news, Freddy! Great going. Get here soon enough, we still have a lot to be done."

"Yes, Alistair. I'll be there in some time, as soon as I get something else over here."

"Okay." Alistair hung up the phone, while Fredericks looked slightly worried.

He made a start towards the warehouse from where their target had fled when he stopped dead in his tracks. The alley where he stood seemed empty enough to him, yet there as something. He turned around to see a man standing on the opposite street, distant enough to not be recognized easily. Freddy could have sworn that he had never met the man in his life or even seen him for all he knew, yet there was something malicious about the air even though the two of them stood far apart.

And then, it was too late.

The man gave Freddy a lopsided smile, his eyes dancing with a strange mania that was familiar to him, yet he could not place it where. And then it hit him. Hard. He had barely let his jaw drop in shock before a passing car blocked their view momentarily, and the mysterious man was lost.

Freddy ran towards the spot where the man had been, only to find the place deserted, and he gritted his teeth. He turned to look at the blank wall in front of him, before his eyes fell over a note that was stuck precariously on the wall. Detaching the note with unnecessary harshness, he read through it swiftly, his eyes flaring in anger by the end of it. Inside it read:

 _It's been six years, yet your passion towards me intrigues me most. It was good seeing you solve the case. Don't bother about how I know this, for I've kept tabs on you for all these years._

 _Love,_

 _Your imposter senior_

"Rocky..." The words slipped away from his lips angrily as he crumpled the paper in his hand into a ball. But before he could seethe any further, another car came to a stop in front of him in a screeching halt. Freddy snapped out from his stupor and stared in bewilderment as a girl in her early 30's stepped down from the car, a tensed look on her face. She walked right up to him, before showing him her batch.

"Special Agent Elizabeth Keen. I need you to step inside the car with me." Freddy cocked his eyebrow in skeptical confusion.

"I'm sorry, but why?"

"Right now, you are on a need-to-know basis." Freddy gave her a stony look, speaking in a decisive voice.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I think you've got the wrong-"

"You are Agent Fredericks of the Special Indian Intelligence Team?"

"Yes."

"Then I haven't got the wrong man." Both the agents stared at each other hard, before Freddy broke the silence, his voice highly suspicious.

"What proof do I have that you're batch is authentic?" The girl let out an irritated huff, now speaking in an annoyed tone.

"Look, we do not have time. And to answer your question, here." Elizabeth handed over to him the phone in her hand and Freddy spoke into it suspiciously.

"Yes?"

"Fred, this is Alistair here. The woman is from the FBI. Apparently, they are on the same case as us, so we are working on this case jointly. So please cooperate with her. She'll be taking you to a safe house to brief you about the situation."

"Alright, sir," said Freddy stiffly, while he handed the phone over to Elizabeth. She silently disconnected it and gestured for Freddy to take a seat in the car, the latter doing so wordlessly.

Half an hour later, the car came to another halt once again, as Elizabeth and Freddy descended from the car, staring at the magnificent condominium in front of them. Elizabeth led the way into the house, Freddy following her silently. They met a tall, daunting man at the entrance who Elizabeth identified as someone by the name of Dembe, who seemed to stand as guard. She gave him a solemn nod and he checked Freddy, before granting them both access. Both of them walked into the house, until they came to a stop in the living room, which looked no less than a palace. Elizabeth cleared her throat.

"He's here." Freddy stared curiously as he felt baffled by the sudden change in events and by the introduction of too many new faces in within half an hour. The man that Elizabeth spoke to sat in the armchair facing the fireplace, so that he was hidden away from view.

Her voice seemed to work as a stimulant as he slowly got up and turned around slowly, and Freddy grasped in shock, as he recoiled away several steps.

"Raymond Reddington!"

"Gee, I'm the one." Freddy looked at Elizabeth in shock, but she had eyes for only Reddington. The man in question, turned to Elizabeth and spoke in a soft voice. "I hope you had no trouble getting him here."

"No, but right now Lucifer is in the custody of the Indian Intelligence, who is being transferred to our site. We should manage to crack him open within a matter of minutes."

"Will someone tell me what is going on?" asked Freddy heated and Reddington gave Freddy a surprised look, as though he had entirely forgotten about his presence. He spoke in an apologetic tone.

"Lizzy, get Agent Fredericks here a chair. He needs to know the complete picture." Elizabeth nodded her head and directed Fredericks into a chair, while the latter seemed to have been slapped awake to being on guard. Reddington smiled.

"You would be a fool if you were as trusting as your past self." Fredericks lost all the colour from his face momentarily before he flushed angrily.

"What is this nonsense? Who are you people and what do you want from me?!" Reddington gave him a lop-sided smirk before speaking in a bored, monotonous tone.

"Mr. Fredericks, if you were to calm down for a minute, things would be much easier. I'm not in my best of health right now, you see."

Fredericks stared at both of them outrageously, before a sardonic look from Reddington made him scowl. Elizabeth spoke in a soft voice as all the three of them took seats in the adjacent armchairs.

"As you know. Reddington stands Number 4 on the FBI's Most Wanted Fugitive, and Number 9 on the Interpol. Reddington here surrendered himself to the FBI one and a half hear ago in exchange for immunity. He gave us in return the Blacklist, a list of criminal masterminds who the FBI didn't even know exist, yet who manage to stage so many global catastrophes that we were unable to connect. His other condition was that he would only disclose the name of a Blacklister if and only if I were in personal contact with him."

"Why?"

"I do not understand it all myself, but that's how it was." Freddy could hear the heavy resentment in Elizabeth's voice, and suddenly noticed a strange tension between Reddington and her. However, getting his mind back on the task, he nodded his head, and Elizabeth continued. "I agreed to work with Reddington. In due course, the FBI came to appreciate the genuineness of the cases and we managed to do a good job."

"How does this relate to me?"

"I'm getting to it. At the same time, Reddington and I here share a common episodic past that made us both the secret holders of a blackmail file called 'The Fulcrum'. Reddington partly contacted me for the same reason. The two of us here managed to decrypt the Fulcrum and get the information on the device, which incriminated dozens of powerful people across the globe."

"And?" Elizabeth shut her eyes for a moment, as though trying to grasp her thoughts fully, before she spoke again.

"Last week, while decrypting the Fulcrum, there was a near-fatal attack on Reddington, which he narrowly managed to survive." Freddy now understood the reason why Reddington looked weak and off colour. He gave the two of them a curious look, not able to withhold his curiosity.

"Who attacked him?"

"It's the Cabal, a group of people involved in the scam who are also trying to suppress the activities of the organization and playing safe-keepers of the same, who will stop at no lengths to keep this organization and its activities a secret." Freddy now felt bewildered again as he still could not see where he entered all this or why was he being summoned by a wanted fugitive and special agent.

"How do I come into this?"

"You see, the Cabal had contracted Rocky Carrasco to kill Reddington, a man that you've had prior contact with." Freddy tried to rack his mind as to where he had every come in contact with the said name, but couldn't get a clue. What he got instead, was bewilderment, as to why was he being told such highly classified information.

"And this is all need-to-know?" Elizabeth and Reddington stared at him with understanding, while the latter nodded her head.

"Yes, only 41 people truly know about the Special Task Force's existence. You are now another keeper of this secret because the circumstances demand the same."

"But what has this contract killer, I'm assuming he's one, got to do with me?" This time, Elizabeth looked at Reddington, who spoke for the first time that evening.

"You've been in personal contact with him during the mishap at your Bureau." Fredericks felt the breath get hitched in his chest as he whispered weakly.

" _Rocky?"_ Reddington nodded his head and spoke in a bored voice.

"Yes. Unfortunately enough, nobody knows how he truly looks, for nobody has ever seen him or met him personally. He is hired via formal contact, not personal. He used to work for me on an anonymous basis some years back before he double crossed me. Ever since then, things have never been the same." Freddy gave him a judgmental look that had no trust, and spoke in a sardonic voice, even though he knew somewhere deep down in his heart that Reddington was correct.

"But why _me_? I'm sure that with the resources that you have at your supply, you can easily apprehend him as and when you want." Reddington caught on to the implied meaning of his tone, and spoke in a malicious voice.

"So basically, you are asking me about my knowledge on you and Rocky."

"What if I am?" Reddington smirked, while Freddy scowled.

"You think I'm bluffing."

"Well, criminals are notorious liars." Reddington gave him a small smile, dropping all pretense.

"That's true. Alright, you want information, I'll give you. You started off your career as a Sub-Inspector at the CID Bureau. Your talents were always undermined by your seniors and you were treated as the clown of your department," Freddy hissed dangerously and Reddigton continued as though he did not notice anything.

"Six years ago, Rocky Carrasco was contracted to kill your head of department. He entered the department as an imposter of your colleague, killing him on the spot. Your head was assassinated few days later, along with the officer who tried to stop him." Freddy had now turned cold, his soul shivering slightly.

"The survivors of your team were disavowed, but you managed to make a lot of progress on the same case. If I am to be honest with you, you made more progress than anyone is discovering the true identity of Rocky and maybe that's why you were pulled under the wing of the Special Indian Intelligence Team, where your skills and passion were channeled correctly, along with the fire of vengeance in your heart." Freddy looked at him horror-struck, as though the most mysterious and turbulent chapter of his life was put across blandly. He grit his teeth, his eyes now as wide as sauce-pans, as he demanded fruitlessly.

"How do you know all this?!" Reddington gave him a serious look, while he now spoke in a low voice.

"It's my job to know. You haven't spoken to your wife in seven months and haven't seen her in three years. You've been burning yourself in a fire that will kill your soul, Freddy." Freddy felt the anger leave him, his stony posture returning back.

"I did not ask for advice, thank you." Reddington gave out a heart-hearted laugh, nodding his head in understanding.

"This was my precise response when a good man once told me the same. I scorned at him, for my heart burned with the fire of revenge. It is only today that I realize how much I've scorched my soul, so much that I cannot feel pain and evil anymore. But never mind me, I'm an old soul. You are what's important."

"What do you mean?" asked Freddy sharply, who abandoned all of his stony expressions to flit into one of suspicion and curiosity.

"We both want Rocky. Me for my own personal vendetta, you for your own. The real reason why I called you here is because you are the only one who has ever had personal contact with the man and I can assure you that in those five days that you've been with him, there is no man who knows him more than you do."

"So basically, you want me to hand him over to you with a bow from the information I've collected on him so far."

"That, and the fact that he is directly related with the case that you are tackling." Freddy looked at him questionably, his tone now confused.

"How so?"

"Sources tell me that your target was hired by Rocky to carry out the deed in DC today. He should be on site right now, waiting to pull the trigger. If you can help us, we can help save majority of the falling dominoes." Freddy nodded his head, another burning question in his mind.

"But I still do not get it, I've never seen him after that incident. And you tell me that nobody has seen this Rocky's face. How on Earth am I supposed to identify him?" Reddington smiled.

"Not by his face, but by the way he carries himself. I've been told that you have exceptional skill in identifying the hidden personality of people, no matter how well-disguised they are. You know how a criminal mind works, you can decipher patterns." Freddy stared at him hard for several minutes before he stood up and extended his hand.

"Alright, I'll help you, but on the only condition that I get to personally interrogate him once he's apprehended." Reddington and Elizabeth stood up as well, the former shaking his hand warmly, speaking in a firm tone.

"He will be taken by the FBI. But yes, I could manage to get a shot at you dimming the burning fire in your heart."

* * *

Three hours later saw Fredericks strolling by a park, his eyes around the area in sharp scrutiny. If Lucifer's tip on the area and Freddy's own hunch was to be proved correct, then Rocky was in one of those buildings, his finger at the trigger that he would pull the moment the Russian diplomat came into view. He somehow had surmised that Rocky would be an excellent sniper from all the information that he had collected, and he knew that he would play to his forte in a time like this. Freddy could see the diplomat in front of him, walking casually, two bodyguards behind him.

Freddy looked about the area frantically, scanning the rooftop of the buildings with extra care, not knowing from where the assassin would take the shot. He was sure that the tip was right, that he would get his hands around the neck of the man who had destroyed his life six years back. Or atleast, he would make sure that he found him.

Freddy had barely contemplated this thought when saw something gleam on top of one of the skyscrapers.

"There! The building at your 8 o' clock on the roof top, now! Copy! Copy!" Freddy did not know whether anybody had copied his message, but he knew what had to be done. Quickly running towards the to-be victim, he threw himself upon the Russian Diplomat while yelling 'Get down!', one of the bodyguards falling down with a dull thump simultaneously. Chaos reigned the park as Freddy overturned the diplomat, heaving a sigh of relief that he was alright.

"Are you alright, sir?"

"Yes... yes... I don't... who are-"

"Keep cover on him!" yelled Freddy to the other bodyguard who looked shaken, while the former did not stop back to give the diplomat another look as in that moment, his microphone had gone out.

"Target running on 52nd Street, anyone copy?!"

"I got it, I got it!" Freddy ran quickly towards the building from where the assassin had now fled. Freddy put his entire energy in running as he spotted a tall man running quickly, dumping a large briefcase in the dumpster of a nearby alleyway. Freddy gave chase, not rallying his mind over to Elizabeth Keen who was even ahead of him, but instead, using his whole energy to catch hold of Rocky.

Taking a detour from the second alleyway, Freddy increased his speed in running, even though he could practically feel the stitches getting pulled at his sides. His hunch fruitful, he reached the next alleyway the intersected the one that Rocky was running from, and finally caught hold of the man, pinning him brutally to the wall opposite, as Elizabeth pulled out her gun and yelled into the air.

"Rocky Carrasco, you are under arrest for the plotting and attempted murder of Russian Diplomat, Roen Vladofsky." Before Freddy could do anything further, an explosion took place nearby, blowing both himself and Elizabeth off their feet some distance apart, disorienting them for a few minutes. By the time they could get into their senses, Rocky had vanished.

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Freddy sat disgruntled in the paramedics van, a bandage over his head. An ice-pack sat on the crown of his head, as there was a swelling, accompanied by a nasty headache. He stared at his reflection in the mirror opposite the chair, a dangerous look on his face as the thought of how close he had been to avenging his loved ones kept cutting through his thoughts.

Elizabeth cleared her throat and spoke not unkindly.

"Mr. Fredericks, I'm sorry that we could not catch him. But we've kept evil at bay for now, you must understand that." Freddy gave her a half-smile.

"I do." Elizabeth gave him a soft smile, her blue eyes giving him a kind look.

"Thank you, Mr. Fredericks. It's been a pleasure working with you." Freddy let a better smile cross his features, as he got down from the van.

"The feeling is mutual. Take care, and I hope you succeed in whatever it is that you are to battle." Elizabeth nodded her head solemnly before shaking his hand. Both of them smiled at each other, before Freddy departed for his house, his heart holding the pain of failure too harsh.

Freddy reached his place twenty minutes later, a small apartment on the ground floor. He sighed, using his key to open the door, before his breath got hitched. As the door swung open, in front of his stood a hypnotizing sight, as Rocky sat tied to the armchair of the living room, severely bruised, his head bleeding profusely, his mouth taped. Freddy shut the door behind him, his heart racing quickly, before he saw a note on the coffee table nearby.

Opening it, he saw three sentences staring back at him.

 _Everyone deserves to have a chance at fulfilling their vendetta. I've had mine, and now you have yours. If you choose to heed my advice, you are wise; if not, you are human._

 _Good luck,_

 _Reddington_

Freddy kept the note down and stared at Rocky hard. And even before he knew it, he felt his hand move across Rocky's face harshly, pulling the tape from his lips, the latter giving out a loud cry of pain. The shriek gave a strange soothing to Freddy's heart, as he sat down opposite a securely tied Rocky, hatred etched over every feature of his face. Rocky in turn, only smiled at him with his bloody lip, before spitting out blood onto the floor.

Freddy looked at Rocky and gave him a cold look. Rocky, by description, was almost 6'4 inches tall, has a robust body and was pretty much athletic. At the same time, his current appearance enabled him to have cat-green eyes, a long nose and brown hair. Yet somehow, in spite of these overly charming features, and disregarding the state he was in, he did not look attractive - only the opposite.

Disregarding his pitiful condition, there was a strange deficit about the way his face kept contorting every now and then with a repulsive expression, his face no less than a manic one. There was a malicious lust about his eyes that distinctly made Freddy recoil, while there was a strange love in them nonetheless. Gathering himself after a few minutes, he spoke in a cold voice.

"I've been hunting you for six years." Rocky gave him a leering smile.

"And I, loving you." Freddy disregarded his statement, letting a bitter smile cross his features.

"Tonight's your last night, Rocky. It's time you paid for your sins." Rocky smirked, his face quickly changing into one of excruciating pain, in spite of which, he spoke.

"You cannot kill me."

"What makes you say so?" Rocky coughed feebly, speaking now in a mock caressing voice.

"I know you. I've observed you, worked with you. You are not cut out for this." Freddy gave him a venomous look, his voice now resolute.

"You don't know me at all."

"I think I do. I've been observing you for six years, helping you out secretly through the tough spots, without you realizing it. I know you very well. You won't kill me." Freddy pulled out his revolver and pointed it straight at Rocky's face. The latter smiled. "Pull the trigger, end it for me."

"It won't take me much to put this right through your head."

"Then do it. I've never feared dying." Freddy smirked at him nastily.

"You'd be lying if you said you did."

"What do you mean?" For the first time, Freddy noticed the hidden nervousness in Rocky's voice, and he knew that his hunch was correct.

"I know. There was no reason for you to carry out the kill personally. Yet you did, why? Because you wanted to be caught. Your entire heist with the alley was all just a stunt, just to make it look natural and believable - something to let your legacy live." Rocky looked at him in a trance, as he mouthed weakly.

"Go on."

"But the truth is, you wanted to be caught. Because you knew that this case was being handled by the Indian Intelligence. You knew that I would be in-charge. It's why you let Lucifer get caught. You were hearing on the conversation the entire time. But the question is why? Why did you want to meet me?" Rocky now had a passionate look on his face that made him features transform for the worst.

"Because I desired to meet you." Freddy gave him a cold look, his voice just as icy.

"Why?"

"Because you have become my obsession." Freddy shrugged his shoulders with disinterest, even though he noticed that his lack of interest was agitating him.

"I don't see why. I was just a common officer back at the Bureau. What caught your fancy?" Disregarding the question, Rocky spoke in a strong voice.

"After all these years, I've come to see you as an old comrade rather than an enemy. I hoped that you'd come to feel the same way." Freddy cocked his eyebrows up disdainfully.

"We are not alike." Rocky smiled smugly, that made Freddy twitch unconsciously.

"That's where you are mistaken. We are _much more_ alike than you know." Freddy now looked at his indifferently, suddenly wondering where this conversation was going.

"You killed my colleagues. You ruined my life." Rocky shook his head, speaking throatily.

"I gave you the stepping stone into a glorious life."

"You are a psychopath, an ugly, tormented little man, a lonely soul who is sad, very sad. Beyond anyone's help." Rocky growled angrily, before spitting on the floor violently.

"And you are a chameleon. People think that you are stupid, much below their comprehension, but the fact is that apart from that jovial exterior, you brim with a darkness that consumed you whole. It makes you what you are today, a cold man." Freddy stared at him silently for a few minutes, before speaking barely above a whisper.

"Did you ever feel sorry for the people you've so brutally killed?" Rocky looked at him intently before smiling evilly, speaking in an arrogant voice.

"No."

"Then I have no regret doing this." Freddy looked at him straight in the eye, as he shot at his kneecap. Rocky shouted in pain, his yells renting the entire air, while Freddy had a sadistic look on his face. Rocky gave him an enraged look, screaming harshly.

"You _son of a bitch_!" Freddy laughing mirthlessly, just as Rocky gave half a strangled yell of pain.

"I hope you liked that. You may have your obsessions with me, but for me, you are nothing but a criminal whose time is up. Yes," Freddy smiled viciously as Rocky's eyes widened in shock. "That's what it is now, isn't it? You're dying, that's why you wanted to get caught. You are too proud to claim your own life, and nothing would boost your legacy more than to have a heroic death."

"No... No... Please..." Rocky's eyes were now drooping, but Freddy spoke in a pitiless voice.

"I won't kill you, because as a wise man once told me I was burning myself in a fire that would eventually burn my soul. But after seeing you today, I realize that you are not worth it. I will not burn my soul over you. Karma has now descended to settle the scores and that will be it. I will keep you alive long enough to see your legacy crashing. That will be my vengeance." Freddy gave one deadpan look to Rocky before the latter lost consciousness.

Freddy took out his phone and quickly dialed through a number.

"Dembe, I need you to take _him_ away from here. Reddington can do whatever the heck he wants with him."

Fifteen minutes later saw Dembe carting off an unconscious Rocky from Freddy's house, while Reddington stood at the doorpost, staring at the scene. Freddy stared blankly, his mind exhausted and his heart strangely empty.

"You are a wise man, Mr. Fredericks. Few could do what you did today, and if it is any consolation, your deceased colleagues would be happy as well." Freddy gave him an acknowledging nod, before asking in a resigned tone.

"Was it worth it, Reddington? Those six years of my life that I devoted to catching a man who wasn't even worth the effort?" Reddington patted his shoulder, speaking sagely.

"That's revenge, Freddy. It is a fire that keeps burning through your heart, making you explore arenas of yourself that you have never unlocked, yet once it is all over, you never know whether it was worth it all or not."

"I feel empty. Like I'm gliding through the mist and returning back to reality for the first time in six years."

"You'll find your way through this eventually. You are wise, so you will know best. Return back to your loved ones, for they will not stay in wait for you always. Cherish them while they are around before a time comes when you have to become someone's invisible benefactor. Think about it." Freddy gave him an uncertain look, before Reddington shook hands with him warmly and departed, leaving a bewildered Freddy behind.

Freddy sighed as he shook his head, shutting the door behind him tiredly. He did not know what to do with his life now that his purpose had reached an end. He knew he had to make amends with his wife and keep fighting for his country, but he was too tired to seek purpose anymore. He had completely lost himself in those six years, forgetting the innocence of life in the harsh reality of the dark world he was sucked into. But for the first time in all those years, he felt a part of his own self reawaken itself in his heart and soul.

But everything could wait. For all he knew, tomorrow was another day where he could learn how to glide through the mist.

* * *

 **Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D**


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